Krishna Babu said the association had made such allegations to have a monopoly over the business and prevent others from coming in.

“There is no truth in it. They have been doing this to keep their monopoly intact and prevent others from doing it. They are preventing anybody from outside from doing the job. Anyone who will attempt to disrupt operations will be strongly dealt with,” said Krishna Babu on Monday in his reactions to the allegations made by the Paradip Port Stevedores’ Association.

Paradip Port Stevedores’ Association president Mahimananda Mishra had on Sunday alleged that the autocratic functioning of the PPT chairman was aimed at crippling Paradip port. Addressing a press conference, he had alleged that the PPT chairman had ignored the stevedore companies operating in the port and had handed over the cargo loading and unloading operations at the port to a Hyderabad-based stevedoring company.

“If the chairman didn’t have any mala fide intention, you would never hear that a port authority will write a letter to the police authorities to give protection to a private party. I am a licensee. For my protection, I may write to the chief secretary, I can write to Home secretary and I can write to the police authorities,” Mahimananda Mishra of the Paradip Port Stevedore Association told reporters in Bhubaneswar on Sunday.